Headphones

[VASI]

Here an article for Focal Spirit Professional

http://www.audiomedia.com/gear-&-tech/0010/focal-spirit-professional/1258

[Constantin]

I totally agree about the Ultrasones. I have the Signature Pro. They're a bit pricey, but really worth it for me. They sound absolutely great and are very comfortable. I absolutely agree with John B above. I use my Ultrasones for cart jobs only, but for bag work (which is rare for me these days) I now use the Sennheiser Hd-25. They are smaller and lighter than the Ultrasones and I can put them on with one hand. But I also believe that it's good for my ears to work with different cans from time to time. To reset the ears in a way, so to speak.

[Margus Jukkum]

Hey Margus, my HD25 are taking a beating, and have been looking at the Focal Pro set for awhile now - do you feel that they are durable for field use?  It's not like the HD25 are super durable either, but have been reading about people complaining about cracked plastic on the Focals.

It's a bit early for me to talk about the durability of the Focals as I've only owned them for a little over a month and had them on the road only once. I still take the Beyer's with me as well. I have traveled for years with a backup headset as early in my career I was in Yellowknife, in the North-West Territories and my headphones broke. I never again want to have work with earbuds to get through the day.

[Sloan Stewart]

Here are some opinions based on my own personal experience.

Audio-Technica ATH-M50

These are my go-to headphones currently. Cheap, comfortable. Slightly soft in the mid range, but overall seem balanced. The new ATH-M50x has a detachable cable.

Sennheiser HD280 Pro

Wore these for a while. Not expensive. The ear pads and headband pad will wear out pretty quickly from daily use. Clarity is good, but there is a serious lack of low end (this coming from a guy that does not like boosted lows).

Shure 440

I bought these off eBay for a killer deal and was excited to see how they sounded but was very disappointed overall. I felt the high end was harsh and didn't have much clarity, sounded 'messy'. Will keep them for backup.

Ultrasone HFI-550

My second choice next to ATH-M50

This is an older model but you may be able to snag some used ones. I got mine for $30 and repaired them myself. I like these, they are similar to the ATH-M50 but have more midrange 'punch'. May be fatiguing after extended use.